<p>The death toll in the horrific fire that engulfed a 24-storey tower in west London rose to 30 today amid fears that it could climb to over 100 in one of the worst fire tragedies in the country.<br /><br />Metropolitan police commander Stuart Cundy said, "We know that at least 30 people who have died. The bodies have been taken to a morgue, but more bodies remain in the building."<br /><br />"We always knew that the death toll would increase," Cundy said, adding that there was nothing to suggest that the fire at the Grenfell Tower was started deliberately.<br /><br />The investigation into the cause of the fire that has now been extinguished will take weeks, he added.<br /><br />"Sadly we do not expect there to be any survivors," Cundy said.<br /><br />Earlier today, Scotland Yard expressed fears that all the victims of the massive fire that engulfed a 24-storey tower in west London may never be identified.<br /><br />While 30 people have been confirmed dead, there are fears the death toll could hit hundreds.<br />Cundy said there was "a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody".<br /><br />Asked about the number of dead, he said he hoped the death toll would not reach "triple figures" and indicated a criminal investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.<br /><br />"We as the police, we investigate criminal offences -- I am not sitting here and saying there are criminal offences that have been committed, that's why you do an investigation, to establish it," he said.<br /><br />Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by grandson Prince William, paid a visit to the Grenfell Tower this morning where the number of missing is estimated to be around 76.<br /><br />They met volunteers, local residents and community representatives while visiting Westway Sports Centre in west London, near the burnt down 24-storey Grenfell Tower.<br /><br />British Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a judge- led full public inquiry into the incident and is expected to pay a visit to the injured in one of the London hospitals after she faced criticism over her failure to meet the victims during a visit to the site yesterday.<br /><br />Newly-appointed Indian-origin housing minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government, Alok Sharma, said, "Every single family will be rehoused in the local area".<br /><br />Local residents shouted angry questions when London mayor Sadiq Khan paid a visit to the area.<br />Friends and families of victims, including a furious seven-year-old, asked: "How many children died? What are you going to do about it?"<br /><br />"The bad news, I'm afraid, is lots of people died in the fire. There are a lot of brave firefighters and police and ambulance workers. And once it's safe, they are going to go into the building,” he said, in an attempt to calm the crowds.<br /><br />The local Grenfell Action Group had claimed, before and during a major 10-million-pound refurbishment of Grenfell Tower last year, that the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted".<br /><br />Emergency services are to spend a third day searching for bodies in the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, where they were called to reports of a fire in the early hours of Wednesday.<br /><br />Their teams were forced to leave the 24-storey building yesterday afternoon when the fire restarted, delaying further the efforts to reach upper floors -- where many victims are thought to have been trapped.<br /><br />Particular concerns have been raised about the rain- screen cladding used on the outside of the tower, which experts said might have accelerated the inferno that consumed the entire block in just 15 minutes.<br /><br />It has since emerged that the US had banned the type of cladding thought to have been used on Grenfell Tower.<br /><br />The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council -- the authority that owns the tower block -- told the BBC it would not use the type of cladding fitted to Grenfell Tower in other buildings in the borough.<br />Yesterday, the first victim of the fire was named as 23- year-old Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali.<br />The Syria Solidarity Campaign said Alhajali, a civil engineering student, had been in a flat on the 14th floor when the fire broke out, and had spent two hours on the phone to a friend in Syria.<br /><br />Meanwhile, donations to help those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy have surpassed 2 million pounds in just two days.</p>
<p>The death toll in the horrific fire that engulfed a 24-storey tower in west London rose to 30 today amid fears that it could climb to over 100 in one of the worst fire tragedies in the country.<br /><br />Metropolitan police commander Stuart Cundy said, "We know that at least 30 people who have died. The bodies have been taken to a morgue, but more bodies remain in the building."<br /><br />"We always knew that the death toll would increase," Cundy said, adding that there was nothing to suggest that the fire at the Grenfell Tower was started deliberately.<br /><br />The investigation into the cause of the fire that has now been extinguished will take weeks, he added.<br /><br />"Sadly we do not expect there to be any survivors," Cundy said.<br /><br />Earlier today, Scotland Yard expressed fears that all the victims of the massive fire that engulfed a 24-storey tower in west London may never be identified.<br /><br />While 30 people have been confirmed dead, there are fears the death toll could hit hundreds.<br />Cundy said there was "a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody".<br /><br />Asked about the number of dead, he said he hoped the death toll would not reach "triple figures" and indicated a criminal investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.<br /><br />"We as the police, we investigate criminal offences -- I am not sitting here and saying there are criminal offences that have been committed, that's why you do an investigation, to establish it," he said.<br /><br />Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by grandson Prince William, paid a visit to the Grenfell Tower this morning where the number of missing is estimated to be around 76.<br /><br />They met volunteers, local residents and community representatives while visiting Westway Sports Centre in west London, near the burnt down 24-storey Grenfell Tower.<br /><br />British Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a judge- led full public inquiry into the incident and is expected to pay a visit to the injured in one of the London hospitals after she faced criticism over her failure to meet the victims during a visit to the site yesterday.<br /><br />Newly-appointed Indian-origin housing minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government, Alok Sharma, said, "Every single family will be rehoused in the local area".<br /><br />Local residents shouted angry questions when London mayor Sadiq Khan paid a visit to the area.<br />Friends and families of victims, including a furious seven-year-old, asked: "How many children died? What are you going to do about it?"<br /><br />"The bad news, I'm afraid, is lots of people died in the fire. There are a lot of brave firefighters and police and ambulance workers. And once it's safe, they are going to go into the building,” he said, in an attempt to calm the crowds.<br /><br />The local Grenfell Action Group had claimed, before and during a major 10-million-pound refurbishment of Grenfell Tower last year, that the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted".<br /><br />Emergency services are to spend a third day searching for bodies in the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, where they were called to reports of a fire in the early hours of Wednesday.<br /><br />Their teams were forced to leave the 24-storey building yesterday afternoon when the fire restarted, delaying further the efforts to reach upper floors -- where many victims are thought to have been trapped.<br /><br />Particular concerns have been raised about the rain- screen cladding used on the outside of the tower, which experts said might have accelerated the inferno that consumed the entire block in just 15 minutes.<br /><br />It has since emerged that the US had banned the type of cladding thought to have been used on Grenfell Tower.<br /><br />The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council -- the authority that owns the tower block -- told the BBC it would not use the type of cladding fitted to Grenfell Tower in other buildings in the borough.<br />Yesterday, the first victim of the fire was named as 23- year-old Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali.<br />The Syria Solidarity Campaign said Alhajali, a civil engineering student, had been in a flat on the 14th floor when the fire broke out, and had spent two hours on the phone to a friend in Syria.<br /><br />Meanwhile, donations to help those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy have surpassed 2 million pounds in just two days.</p>